“It’s never great to lose players of that quality but he only had a year contract so we do not have a choice,” Wenger said at the time to French TV, as quoted by the BBC. Sanchez, incidentally, has one year left on his contract at Arsenal.

That leaves the 28-year-old Chilean forward with only one likely option. Bayern Munich, the German Bundesliga champion, is believed to be in the market for Sanchez, and Arsenal would be more willing to sell to an indirect rival.

Juventus, the Italian champion, is another possibility, with a valuation of around £45 million put on the forward.